Have you ever seen such a sight??

Tyler often begs to take baths in my bathtub--so the other night we decided we would let him. Jaden and Paige were in their bathtub with bubbles, so Tyler wanted bubbles in the "big bathtub". Steve filled the bath nearly full, so the jets could be turned on for Tyler. Now, I was not in charge of Tyler's bath. I was with the little ones. From what I gather, Steve filled the tub, put in bubbles (way too many), turned on the jets and left Tyler to "HAVE FUN!" I hear Tyler yelling and s..l...o...w..l....y walk to my bathroom to find this.....

I have NEVER seen so many bubbles. They were EVERYWHERE. So, I can't stop from laughing. I run to get my camera--of course thinking, this is going to be a great blog.

This is Tyler looking a little worried in the bath tub. Before Steve left the bathroom, Tyler had been splashing water out of the tub and making a mess. Steve told him if he splashed anymore or made a mess, that he would get out and get spanked. So, understandably, Tyler was VERY worried he was going to get spanked----because the bathroom was a mess.

This is Tyler----having a BLAST in the bubbles, once I convinced him that dad would not spank him. He was adamant and kept telling me, "dad said...". I honestly couldn't keep from laughing.

After Jaden and Paige got out of their bathtub, I decided they should join in on the bubble fun! We already had a mess, why not have a little FUN!!! I had drained the water, but the tub was still FULL to the top, of bubbles. So, I put Jaden and Paige in with Tyler! Jaden had a blast....

Paige, did not have fun, at first. This is her initial reaction. She did settle down and played (or watched the boys) for a little bit. But, she was the first one out.

So, that was our bubble fun! We now know if you are going to use the jets in a whirlpool bath, that minimum bubbles are needed.

Where is God?

Jaden said the cutest thing Sunday as we were sitting around the island. I don't remember how it came up, but Jaden asked me if "God was in his tummy." Tyler was there with me and he just started smiling really big, as did I, trying not to laugh. I said, "No, God is in your heart." Jaden followed with, "Then, is Jesus in my tummy?" Ummm...."no." And, Jaden replied with, "Then who is in my tummy." At this point, Tyler is nearly laughing. I told Jaden no one was in his tummy and God was in his heart with him. Then, we changed the topic. But, not until Jaden lifted up his shirt to distinguish where is heart was from his tummy.

Oh kids....so cute!!

My Creative Side comes out

It's Monday night and I don't have a jewelry show, so I decided to get crafty after the kids went to bed. I saw (on another blog) this mom had made a bow board for her daughter. We keep Paige's bows in a jewelry box in her room and it's such a mess, we can never find the the bow we want, etc. or they are all over the floor. So, I have now solved this problem! I gathered my tools--below-- and went to work.

Yes, this is Steve's staple gun. I was having fun using it--feeling quite powerful. (It doesn't take much to amuse me!) And, yes, that is my boys' play tape measure. I was so eager to get my project started I didn't want to look for a real tape-measure. It did the trick!

So, here it is. Isn't it cute!

And, the finished project with Paige's bows! I LOVE IT!! Now, if I can hang it up and not have Paige climb the wall to get her bows down--that is the challenge!

Stay tuned in the next few days. I picked up more craft projects on my trip to Hobby Lobby tonight. So, I may be making more things during nap time today!

Thank goodness for Kids Day In at Westlink. Jaden and Paige went there today so I had all morning to get caught up on work and now I can play!!

Family Reunion Time

It's the Clifton get-together! I have to say, my mom and her siblings do a great job of getting together once a year. My brothers and I always give our mom a hard time about these get- together, we're so busy, etc.... This year, I was the only one able to go, but it was fun and my kids had a BLAST!!! Sloppy Joes (and MUCH more, but this is what my kids choose) for lunch, cupcakes, more cupcakes and pink lemonade! The park, the sand, volleyball, horseshoes, and new friends (cousins we haven't seen for a year.) The kids were dirty and tired, but they had a great time.

The 5 siblings: Uncle Gary, mom, Aunt Roxy, Uncle Mike, Uncle Brad.

This is Emmi, "little Gary's" daughter. She took right to my 3 kids and played with them the entire afternoon. My kids quickly learned her name and realized she would be their new best-friend for the day.

Our family. How cute!! We don't get very many pictures with Gma and Gpa, so this was nice!

The cousins: Rochelle and her husband, Chad. Tim and Tina. Me and Steve---and my side-kick Jaden who won't leave my side :)

What I have taken from this day--- I hope my brothers and I will stay in touch and hopefully see each other more than once a year. But, at the least, we do need to take a lesson from mom and her siblings and make it a point to get-together for fun and food. Family is so important and we often take that for granted. I thank God, that I have a wonderful family. In addition, I am blessed to have married into a great family as well. So many of my friends don't have good "in-laws", but I am grateful for mine. As, I am grateful for my parents. They are wonderful, supportive, and always there for us. Both my grandparents are gone now, but my grandpa and grandpa Balzer were at EVERYTHING us kids did. They were supportive and always there for us, and my parents continue this pattern. Friends will come and go, but family is here to stay. And, I am thankful for that.

The Mystery of Megan

I am SO THRILLED to have solved the mystery of Tyler's new Kindergarden friend, Megan. (This is an update from a blog last week.) I decided to email his teacher today, Ms. Williams, and ask her if Megan was a boy or a girl. I was a bit embarassed, but at least we know now! Below is Ms. Williams response to my email:
Megan is a girl, but has a very short hair cut and I have noticed that some of the kids think she is a boy. Today, I thought I heard Tyler saying something about “him” (referring to Megan). Megan always plays with the boys and yes, I would say that she is a tomboy. In fact, I have to separate her and Tyler at Circle time, etc…because they like to talk to each other a lot. Good question! Hope this helps!

Very Funny!! This still makes me laugh. And what is even more funny----I told Tyler I talked to his teacher today and found out Megan was "a girl" and Tyler does not believe me. He just kept telling me, "He's a tom-boy." I have tried over and over to nicely explain "tom-boy" to Tyler, but he just isn't getting it. OH my....to be 5 again! And, yes....we talked about when it is appropriate to talk with our friends at school. If the teacher is talking, you don't talk to your friends., etc. I have an email into the teacher about this---does Tyler talk to much. I am pretty sure (ok, positive) I used to get in trouble in school for talking too much. The next 12 + years of school with my kids is going to be so fun!

Kids Day In

This Monday, Jaden and Paige started Kids Day In at Westlink Church. Tyler did this when he was 3, followed by one year of actual pre-school before starting Kindergarten. I like the KDI program because it is from 9:30-1:30 and the kids take their lunch. So, it gives me 4 hours to work on Premier (or shop!!) --- I haven't decided which one yet! So, I knew I would send Jaden this year as he is 3 and ready for a structured program. I decided to go ahead and send Paige also. One, she would probably be bored at home with just me and two, I will use this time work on Premier and then I can play with the kids more the rest of the week. So, here's my cutie's on their first day of school.

Here they are showing me how Tyler wears his back-pack--not on his back, but with one strap over one shoulder. They want to be JUST LIKE their older brother. Jaden kept asking about riding the bus and I had to keep explaining you don't get to ride the bus until you are 5.

On a different note---Tyler is going to be our "preppy/stylish" boy and Jaden is going to be our casual "who cares" boy. I tried to get Jaden to wear a cute collared shirt to school and he was not having it. So, I just let him pick his own shirt, finally, and he choose his t-shirt!!
I thought Tyler's backpack was big on him---wow! They both got new backpacks for school and of course, they think they are hot stuff. Even if they can't walk with their back-packs on their backs. The school asked for regular sized back-packs---or I would have sent them with more appropriately sized bags.

And, here they are...best buddies, ready for school. As I was taking their pictures, Jaden just leaned over and put his arm around Paige and smiled. Of course, I melted and yelled, "stay there, how cute!!"

They both did great their first day of school. They BOTH loved it! They brought work home and Paige (2) told me she glued "red circles --apples" so I was impressed. Jaden had trouble with eating his lunch. His teacher, Mrs. Roth, said she kept telling him to eat and he wouldn't so when lunch was over she took his food and he threw a bit of a fit. (I think a LARGE fit!). I told the teacher his dad and I have trouble with him wanting to eat EVERY night. So, we are hoping if Jaden learns nothing else this year, he will learn how to eat his food in a timely manner.

Another Flashback--Paige's 2nd b-day

YES!! I just did a blog on Jaden's July birthday--but 3 weeks before that, June 24th, Paige turned 2. Jaden and Paige are 11 months apart and we have always called them "the babies", but I guess at 2 and 3, I probably need to quit calling them "the babies". With birthdays so close together, I have to plan 2 FUN parties back to back for basically the same aged kids. So, for Paige's first Princess party we went to Watson park. Not sure that was "princess" aroma, but she and the kids had fun. I figure there are many more years left to have "girly" princess parties with dress up clothes and tea sandwiches!! (I had one friend tell me that it was one of the most fun kids' parties she has gone too---that made me feel good!!! ) This time we invited friends and family to the same party!

Here's Tyler and the birthday girl. It's really hard to get a picture of anyone without Tyler in the picture. He "jumps" in every picture he can.

Paige's friends: Uncle Davide holding cousin Mason, cousin Taylor in the chair and Braxton Thompson in the lawn chair. Braeden Thompson and Tyler, Paige, Hallie Wilkinson, Alexis Thompson, Leah Wilkinson, cousin Annie Kruse, and Jaden! I was impressed to get everyone looking at the camera!!

Paige and her "GIRLFRIENDS"---Leah Wilkinson and Alexis ThompsonThe princess cake with real princess figurines!! I tried to keep the cake out of the heat, but it was QUITE MESSY by the time we had hotdogs and hamburgers and opened presents. The cupcake/cake was melting!! But, the kids loved it. I guess that's all that matters.

Then, we were off to ride ponies and go on a train ride around the park. Paige wouldn't ride the ponies. But, her brothers and friends had a great time!! Grandpa Balzer tried to walk beside the pony with Paige, but the workers would not allow it---not even for a princesses 2nd birthday.

I just LOVE this sweet picture of Jaden, waiting PATIENTLY for his turn on the ponies. I think Jaden got to ride 2 times!

And, here's Jaden and Paige watching the ponies through the fence . Aren't they cute!

And, here's the Birthday Princess---with her birthday girl ATTITUDE!! She's only 2....what will 14 be like?? We love you Paige and you will always be our little Princess. You are so sweet and lovable, even though you do have a little girl attitude. You love Princesses, you love playing with your kitchen, you LOVE your brothers, you LOVE dressing yourself, you love shoes and you pick out your own shoes, you are such a girly girl!! We love you!